FREMONT -- Lanes closed for more than a year on a short section of Warren Avenue will reopen Monday, likely leading commuters, Fremont pedestrians and Silicon Valley transit leaders to breathe sighs of relief.

The reopening will unsnarl jammed traffic and nearly complete a $24.5 million project intended to make the Warm Springs district roadway safer and to help BART reach the South Bay, linking Santa Clara County businesses and residents to the rest of the Bay Area.

"Better infrastructure and better transportation options will help our economy," said Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

The Warren Avenue Grade Separation Project will let motorists freely pass under two bridges for BART and freight railroad tracks.

The project separates automobiles, bicyclists and pedestrians from trains, making it safer to travel through the Warm Springs district, said Fremont Mayor Bill Harrison.

"Thanks to the patience of our community," he said, "BART can now go all the way through our city and complete Fremont's role as a destination for our neighbors to the north and south."

The Warren Avenue construction is part of the Mission Warren Area Improvement Project, a $151 million job jointly funded by Fremont and several transit agencies, including Caltrans and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).

The grade separation project in June 2013 closed all lanes on a 750-foot stretch of Warren Avenue, between Kato Road and Mission Falls Court. Traffic has snarled for more than a year on the avenue, between Interstates 880 and 680.

Advertisement

Relief comes Monday, when one lane in each direction will reopen, said VTA spokeswoman Bernice Alaniz. All of Warren Avenue, two lanes in each direction, should reopen by the end of next week when crews finish a center divider, she said.

Other nearby road improvements, such as adding a third lane to Mission Boulevard, and connecting Kato Road to Mission Boulevard with new ramps, will be completed by early next year, Alaniz said.

The road work is part of VTA's BART Silicon Valley Project, which aims to build a 16-mile route extension from south Fremont to Santa Clara.

The Warm Springs/South Fremont BART station is expected to open late next year, and station openings in Milpitas and north San Jose's Berryessa district are slated for the end of 2017.

BART stations in downtown San Jose and Santa Clara tentatively are scheduled for completion in 2025, according to the VTA.